I'll Look After You
by Gwydion
Summary: "You gotta help him." Holding up the blanket, Raph gently placed it on Donnie's cluttered desk and pulled back the corners, revealing what had been wrapped inside. There sat a small turtle splattered with mud, his head and legs partially drawn into his shell.


Disclaimer: I do not own Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

**I'll Look After You**

Raph was panting as he raced through the sewers, focused on getting home as quickly as possible. His stubby feet splashed through the puddles as he ran, and he instinctively covered the small blanket he was cuddling protectively against his chest to shield it from the dirty water. Determination colored by worry shone clear in his eyes, but they soon filled with hope at the sight of the lair's entrance.

As he approached the turnstiles, he crouched low and peeked around them. Seeing that the coast was clear, he leapt over them silently and hurried through the common area. Upon reaching the center, though, he paused, unsure of what his next move should be.

"It's gonna be ok," he whispered as his gaze darted back and forth. Head to the kitchen? Perhaps he should go straight to his bedroom? Or maybe he should risk Master Splinter's wrath and go to him instead.

But as he turned to his left, his eyes fell upon the doorway to Donatello's work area, and he made up his mind. Though he never liked to admit it, his younger brother was much smarter than he was. He'd know what to do. And if his sibling tried to squeal, Raph could always use _his _strong point to threaten him into reconsidering.

Despite the late hour, the desperate turtle knew that Donnie would still be awake, tinkering with whatever new upgrade he was working on for the lair. Sure enough, as Raph marched in, there he sat, the broken pinball machine Splinter had found for their recently passed Mutation Day celebration in pieces in front of him. His younger sibling stood hunched over it, unaware of his unexpected visitor.

"Donnie!"

The turtle in question visibly jumped upon hearing his name and whirled around in surprise.

"Raph! What're you -"

"You gotta help him." Holding up the blanket, he gently placed it on Donnie's cluttered desk and pulled back the corners, revealing what had been wrapped inside. There sat a small turtle splattered with mud, his head and legs partially drawn into his shell. A few drops of blood littered his back left leg, and a piece of duct tape clung to his plastron. Raph looked up at his brother expectantly, trying to hide the nervous worry that was twisting his stomach in knots.

Leaning down to take a closer look, Donnie's gaze ran over the small animal curiously. "What happened?" he asked as he carefully reached down to better examine the bloody leg, "Where'd you find him?"

Raph began to fidget uncomfortably. Admitting he'd been topside wasn't an option if he wanted to avoid being sentenced to his room for a month, but he wasn't the best liar, and Donnie had a particular knack for reading him. He did his best to sound confident as he spoke. "I found him in the sewers. He was just like that. I don't know what happened."

His brother shot him a dubious look, and Raph glanced away, avoiding eye contact. Surprisingly, though, Donnie said nothing, allowing the conversation to drop in favor of staying focused on his new patient. As he gently began to peel off the piece of duct tape, he finally spoke again.

"He has a cut on his leg. I need you to get me a bowl of cool water and some clean rags. We have to lower his body temperature to help stop the bleeding so we can properly clean it."

With a sharp nod, Raph quickly turned and raced out of the room. Upon reaching the kitchen, he found a medium sized bowl and began filling it with water while he searched under the sink for the rags. Grabbing a handful, he jumped back up, shut the water off, and gripped the full bowl tightly. Being careful not to spill, he hurried back to Donnie as fast as he dared.

Reentering the room, he noticed that his brother had completely removed the tape and had set some hydrogen peroxide, bandages, and a fresh towel on his desk. He silently placed the bowl of water and rags next to them as he eyed the small turtle, his forehead creased with worry.

Raph watched intently as Donnie wordlessly reached for one of the rags, dipped it in the water, and wrung it out. Then, being careful to avoid the cut leg, he slowly began to wipe the mud off of his shell and head. The older turtle grew anxious as the minutes dragged on, but he said nothing. Hovering next to the desk, his gaze remained glued to the small patient as he shifted his weight back and forth in anticipation.

"Do you need any help?" he said at last. If there was one thing he didn't enjoy it was feeling useless.

"No, I got it." Donnie hadn't even glanced up from his work as he spoke.

Raph frowned. "You sure?"

Finally raising his head in exasperation, the younger turtle opened his mouth to speak. But as his gaze fell on Raph's nervous face, his expression softened. With a sigh, he handed a clean rag to his older brother.

"Here," he said, putting the cloth directly into his hand, "His front legs and plastron still need cleaned off. But you have to be careful. He may be in shock, and we don't want to upset him further."

With a quick nod, Raph dunked the rag and wrung it out like he'd seen his brother do. Suddenly wondering if this really was a good idea - Donnie was, after all, the best of the four siblings at taking care of cuts and scrapes - he gently reached out to wipe one of the front legs, his expression that of complete concentration. As he slowly worked his way from one leg to the next and finally to the turtle's underbelly, he gained confidence. Picking up the injured creature slowly, he kept his touches soft and light.

"Good," said Donnie as Raph finished up and carefully replaced the turtle on the desk, "Now, let's have another look at that leg. If the bleeding has completely stopped, we can clean and bandage it."

Raph held his breath as his sibling inspected the leg. Unable to wait patiently for a response, he blurted out, "So? Did the bleeding stop yet?"

"I think so, yes," replied Donnie without so much as lifting his head. He picked up another rag and dipped it in the water before wiping off the remaining mud. "Hand me the hydrogen peroxide."

Doing as he was told, he watched as his brother proceeded to pour a tiny amount on the cloth before dabbing it on the turtle's leg. Once he had finished, he set the rag aside and picked up the bandages and wrapped the leg loosely.

Donnie straightened back up, a satisfied look on his face. "There, that should do it." Turning to face his brother, he continued seriously. "Now, we still have to treat him for shock. I'd suggest wrapping him lightly in this towel and keeping him in a dark, dry, warm place. We'll need to check the wound on occasion over the next forty-eight hours to make sure it's healing properly and hasn't become infected."

"So, is he gonna be ok?"

Raph knew that his anxiety must have been showing clearly on his face as his brother merely smiled knowingly as he wrapped the small turtle in the towel, picked him up, and handed him back to his elder sibling.

"Yes, Raph. I think he'll be just fine."

The relief that washed over him wiped the fearful scowl from his face, and he could feel the corner of his mouth tugging upward in a smile. He looked down at the small creature wrapped in his arms, putting one of his hands on top of his shell protectively.

"So, what are you going to do with it?"

Raph's head snapped back up as he was reminded he had an audience. "Huh?"

Donnie motioned to the turtle in his arms. "Once he's healed, what are you going to do? It's probably someone's pet. Are you going to have Splinter try and find the owner?"

Frowning, Raph lowered his gaze. He'd seen the turtle's owners. They were the reason he was in this state to begin with. There was no way he'd return him to them, but he couldn't tell Donnie that without revealing he'd been wandering the streets that night. He gently began stroking the small turtle's shell through the towel.

"You saw what kind of shape he was in," he said at last. "No one that really wanted him would let him get like that. And if the humans don't want to take care of him, I will."

Leveling his brother with his most willful glare, he raised himself to his full height as if daring Donnie to oppose him. But his younger sibling merely shrugged with a sigh.

"Ok," he said, "but a pet is a big responsibility. You really should ask Master Splinter about it first."

"Yeah, yeah, I will," mumbled Raph, "but only after he's all better. That way Sensei will know I'll take care of him so he'll have to say yes." He looked up at Donnie hesitantly. "...you're not gonna tell him, right? 'cause if you do -"

Raising his hands in defense, his younger brother quickly interrupted him. "I won't, ok? Promise. Just remember that I'm the one that fixed him up just now. You get me in trouble, and you can take care of him yourself next time." Raph watched with relief as Donnie walked toward the far corner of the room that was currently being used for storage. "Now, where's that space heater? It should help keep your room warm and dry - ah, here it is!"

Picking up the banged up portable heater, he made his way back over to Raph and jerked his head toward the door to the common area. With a nod, the older turtle lead the way, eyes glancing about to make sure everyone was still in their rooms asleep as they made their way to his bedroom. As he entered, Raph immediately headed for the back corner behind his drum set. Grabbing a crate he used to store his magazines, he emptied it and set the small turtle down inside while Donnie set up the heater a little ways away so as to not overheat their new family member. Turning it on with a click, he straightened back up and looked at Raph who sat leaning over and peering into the crate.

"You should name him before Mikey finds out about him," said Donnie with a smirk, "Unless you want him to be called Wounded Knee or Slash or something like that."

But Raph didn't even bother to look up, his attention focused solely on his new pet. "Yeah," he mumbled simply. But as Donnie turned to leave, he opened his mouth once more.

"Hey, Donnie."

He saw his brother stop as he reached the doorway. "Yeah, Raph?"

Fidgeting where he crouched, he glanced at his younger brother out of the corner of his eye. He had never been much good at this part.

"Thanks."

The single word was spoken softly, but he knew that Donnie could sense his gratitude by the toothy, gapped smile he got in return. With a nod, the younger turtle gripped the doorknob and closed the bedroom door behind him, leaving the two alone.

Raph sat in silence for a while, simply watching the small turtle until he finally broke the silence.

"How about Spike?"

From inside the crate, the newly named creature's yellow eyes peeked open. Raph's chest swelled with joy at his voice reaching his pet, and he smiled down at his new friend.

"You like that? Well, it's nice to meet you, Spike. I'm Raphael, but you can call me Raph. All my brothers do. I'm gonna take care of you, ok? You can live here with me as long as you want, and I'll make sure that no one ever hurts you again."

* * *

A/N: I find the words come most naturally when I'm writing Raph, so for once this won't be uploaded at 10 pm. Only two prompts left to go! I actually have several I'd like to get to, but I have a lot of other things I've been putting off in favor of this little exercise. Perhaps I'll do something like this again some time in the future.

As always, critics and grammar police appreciated!


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